The children's opera "Brundibar" has become an effective way to introduce children to the history of the Holocaust without overwhelming them.

This is not so much because of the story of "Brundibar" itself, which is a charming folk tale of children rising up to banish a cruel organ grinder who prevents a young brother and sister from raising money in a town square to buy milk for their ill mother. But it's the history of "Brundibar" productions that make it a door to the Holocaust.

The opera was written by Hans Krasa and Adolf Hoffmeister in 1938 for a government competition, which was canceled for political reasons. It was rehearsed and performed in a Jewish orphanage in Prague in 1942. A year later, many of the children and adults who had worked on the show were shipped to the Nazi concentration camp Theresienstadt also called Terezin. Based on his memory and a partial piano score he had with him, Krasa reconstructed the full score for the children he had worked with previously. They performed the show 55 times in Terezin, including once for Red Cross representatives who came to inspect the conditions at the camp and were deceived by the Nazis. The show was even filmed for a Nazi propaganda film, but immediately after the filming, most who worked on the show were shipped off to Auschwitz-Birkenau and its gas chambers. Of the 15,000 children who spent time in Terezin, only 150 survived.

Naturally, families who take their children to see Underground Railway Theater's touching production of "Brundibar" and its companion piece "But the Giraffe!" can adjust their historical explanations to suit how much their children can take in.

"Brundibar" was adapted by Tony-award winning playwright Tony Kushner, who wrote "But the Giraffe!" as an intro to "Brundibar." The two pieces with an intermission between them last about 90 minutes and are being performed at Central Square Theater.

"But the Giraffe!" is a poignant story about Eva, a young girl who's determined to bring her toy giraffe to Terezin, where her family is being shipped. There's room in the last suitcase for either her tall giraffe on a wooden base or her Uncle Rudy's score of "Brundibar," which he tries to explain to her will make many children happy. Eva's a very determined young girl who hasn't developed much of a sense of others yet. I'm sure most adults have never encountered a child like that! Playing Eva, Nora Iammarino, does an excellent job of portraying the stubborn determination and the self-centeredness in a way that isn't grating but we can empathize with.

Eva's mother (Christie Lee Gibson) is practically melting down as the family prepares for Terezin, and she has little ability to connect with her daughter. Eva's Father (Phil Berman) doesn't have much more of a relationship with Eva. But Ruddy (given considerable life by Patrick Varner) has a real friendship with Eva, and it's fun watching him try to persuade her while also leaving her some space. Her Grandmother (Debra Wise) is good at talking with her about giraffes, in a way that makes them a stand-in for Jews. Eva and others call her grandfather (Jeremiah Kissel) "Boss" because of his controlling ways.

Page 2 of 2 - "Brundibar" begins with children huddled around a couple of three-tier wooden bunk beds at Terezin, setting the context for the performance of the opera. Soon a Czech village has been established with painted flats as children are singing to a guitar, violin and piano while Varner conducts from the side.

The brother Pepicek (Alec Shiman) and sister Aninku (Rebecca Klein) sing of how their father has died and their mother is sick in bed and they need milk for her. They enter the town square where there's lots of activity, but little sympathy for them. A cruel policeman (Jeremiah Kissel) sings, "Anyone who doesn't have money should be planning to die."

When the brother and sister are rebuffed by the policeman and the even crueler organ grinder (John J. King), they receive help from a talking dog (Phil Berman), cat (Christie Lee Gibson), and sparrow (Debra Wise), who persuade them to enlist the help of other children.

Shiman and Klein have lovely singing voices, as does the children's ensemble, and King, who makes the organ grinder a very diabolical figure indeed, with hair that comes to two points, like the devil. Obviously, he's a stand-in for Hitler. It's amazing the SS guards allowed them to perform the show. They undoubtedly figured that they would have the final say.

The lyrics of the songs rhyme and are easy to follow. The show is a kind of morality tale for how the downtrodden can band together and resist evil forces.

The show ends with the Organ grinder realistically reminding the children that even though they've beaten him there will be other bullies to come in the future.

"Brundibar & But the Giraffe!" should appeal not only to families with children but anyone interested the history of the Holocaust.